When choosing a small to medium-sized defensive revolver caliber, most people automatically default to the .38 Special or .357 Magnum chambering. There are good reasons to take a hard look at the 9mm Luger for this role. One of the biggest positives is the efficiency of the cartridge in short-barreled revolvers. The 9mm can be loaded to significantly higher pressures than the .38 Special cartridge (SAAMI max pressure- 9mm: 35,000 PSI, .38+P: 20,000 PSI). It sends similar weight bullets much faster than the .38 in equal barrel lengths. The 9mm approaches mid-range .357 Magnum velocities in some loadings.
9mm defensive loads thoroughly outclass .38 Special loads in short-barreled revolvers.
| .38 Special Round | S&W Model 65 3” | 9mm Round | S&W 547 3” |
| CORBON 110 +P DPX | 957 fps | CORBON 115 DPX | 1228 fps |
| Remington 125 +P GS | 966 fps | Speer 124 GDHP | 1131 fps |
| Federal 147 +P+ H/S | 938 fps | Federal 147 H/S | 946 fps |
| Speer 135 +P GDHP | 920 fps | Hornady 135 +P C/D | 1087 fps |
| .357 Mag Round | 9mm Round | ||
| Remington 125 Golden Saber | 1221 fps | Winchester Ranger 124 +P Bonded JHP | 1243 fps |
| CORBON 125 DPX | 1319 fps | AL 9.0 3” | |
| Remington 125 JHP | 1473 fps | “ | 1277 fps |
The author worked with this 547 extensively and became sold on 9mm performance in a compact service revolver.
It is a reasonable assumption that revolvers lose velocity because of the barrel cylinder gap. It’s counterintuitive, but the proof is in the chronograph. 9mm revolvers with long (.357 Magnum length) cylinders achieve equal or even higher velocity than semiautos with similar length barrels. The long cylinder allows the cartridge to burn powder and develop velocity in the “free bore” portion of the cylinder before encountering the resistance of the rifling.
| 9mm Round | AL 9.0 Rev. 3” | S&W Shield 3.1” | S&W 547 Rev. 3” | S&W 6946 3.5” |
| Federal 115 JHP | 1098 fps | 1096 fps | 1111 fps | 1103 fps |
| Speer 124 GDHP | 1119 fps | 1049 fps | 1155 fps | 1084 fps |
| Hornady 135 +P C/D | 1082 fps | 1022 fps | 1087 fps | 1065 fps |
| Federal 147 H/S | 1001 fps | 912 fps | 946 fps | 942 fps |
+P 9mm equals mid-range .357 Magnum performance like Remington’s Golden Saber out of a 3” revolver. The original Federal 125 JHP on the left gives velocity (and fierce blast and recoil) that the 9mm cannot touch.
Another advantage is the availability of 9mm ammunition. A check on Midway USA shows 101 choices for 9mm ammo available right now. In .38 Special there are 18 options but none in .357 Magnum. The 9mm is also more affordable due to its popularity. Midway listed Winchester white box 9mm 115 gr FMJ at 34 cents a round when purchased in quantity- the same brand .38 130 gr FMJ was 63 cents. Proven 9mm defensive rounds ranged from $1.13 to $1.75 per round. Equivalent .38 and .357 loads were unavailable and would cost 2.10 to 2.90 a round if you could buy them. The commonality of ammunition between the semiauto you are likely carrying and a 9mm revolver isn’t bad, either.
Moon clips give bulletproof ejection and make for fast reloads. Factory supplied clip on left, TK Custom’s excellent replacement clip on the right.
Most of the guns available today are designed to be used with moon-clips. Moon-clipped empties in a revolver eject as a group which eliminates the chance of having a failure to extract malfunction. That’s the one where a cartridge rim becomes lodged under the extractor star and renders the gun temporarily inert. This stoppage gave nightmares to revolver folk and prompted the universal reload method (incorporating the palm slap on the extractor rod to ensure empties are jettisoned). Shooting an Armscor AL 9.0 revolver allowed returning to the FBI method because empties ejected every time with only the pressure of the support thumb. The cases jump out of the cylinder so easily it feels like cheating. Moonclips also make for fast reloads, particularly with short cartridges like the 9mm.
Moon clips allow the user to utilize the “FBI method” of ejecting spent rounds with the support thumb while shooting hand reaches for fresh ammo.
Most factory clips are constructed to allow easy loading and unloading by hand. While convenient for practice, they’re susceptible to rounds falling out if dropped or stored in pockets, and they bend easily. Bent moon clips prevent cartridges from fully seating and cause drag in cylinder movement. This results in a love/hate feeling from those that use them. Enter TK Custom; they specialize in high-end moon clips for most brands and calibers of quality revolvers. Their clips typically require tools to load and unload because they hold cartridges much tighter. The snug fit reduces droop and wobble and allows even faster reloads. TK’s clips resist bending and are a “must have” item for defensive use. Check out the awesome things they’re doing at TK Custom; their website is revolver guy “drool worthy.”
The Czech Republic made AL 9.0 3” 9mm revolver imported by Armscor. It’s a well-built gun and makes a superior carry revolver. The all-steel construction keeps recoil controllable.
Armscor’s AL9.0 and other steel guns like Taurus’ 905 and Ruger’s SP101 handle the recoil of the high pressure 9mm well. Choose Ruger’s excellent LCR if you need the concealability of a J frame-sized gun. The LCR is light enough that its snappy recoil impulse can cause heavy bullets to break crimp and pull loose from the case. Stick with lighter bullets and shoot enough of them to rule out bullet pull before you carry them for serious work. It is best to use brass cases in all these guns, too. Steel and aluminum cases are more prone to swelling and sticking in revolver chambers.
The original LCR (front) was chambered in .38 Special with an alloy frame. Ruger chose steel for high-pressure rounds like the .327 and .357 Magnums and the 9mm. This model weighs 17.2 ounces, which is about as light as possible and remains controllable with 9mm ammunition.
The pros outweigh these few cons. 9 mm revolvers are worth a look.
Reference:
https://tkcustom.com
Categories
Sig P220 Elite (Close-Up)
Odds are any legitimate threat will come out of the dark. A decent flashlight should be readily
accessible at night and your constant companion during the day. Options in this regard are extensive.
Chances are you will not be called upon to defend yourself as you are strolling up to the bench at your local range carrying your favorite tricked-out black rifle and 1/2-dozen loaded magazines. It will more likely be in the middle of the night when you awaken suddenly to the sound of breaking glass.
To maximize our probability of success in a social exchange of gunfire, it behooves us to understand our bodies—how these magnificent machines that transport us through life and work when tired, surprised, or both.
You have had a hard day at work on top of perhaps several hard days at work and you have not been sleeping well. You ate some greasy takeout garbage on the way home and your daughter announces when you arrive she wants to date some unworthy punk sporting a nose ring you wouldn’t trust to cut your grass. After a spirited discussion on the subject you finally collapse into the bed and sleep the sleep of the dead.
At three in the morning you are startled awake to the sound of glass breaking downstairs in the kitchen. Your heart rate jumps from 60 to three times that in a matter of seconds and you scramble for your glasses and weapon from the nightstand. You stand shivering in the dark, clad only in your underwear, clutching a deadly piece of tactical hardware while trying desperately to clear your head. Despite your lack of forewarning and innate disadvantage, it is indeed showtime.
Volumes have been penned on the effects of fatigue on fine motor skills, mostly in the context of Law Enforcement Officers, commercial airline pilots, and over-the-road truck drivers. In the face of chronic sleep deprivation reaction times slow predictably and otherwise sound judgment becomes routinely suspect.
On two occasions as a soldier I went four days without sleep. In both cases I actively hallucinated, later swearing I could have seen sounds and smelled colors. The longest documented period any person has ever gone without sleep is 11 days. Though we really do not understand why sleep is such a critical commodity, the human animal dies from lack of it long before he dies from lack of food.
In our dreams, we think we will look like this when we are confronted with a deadly threat. Reality will likely be a little different.
Research on Law Enforcement Officers forced to make split second, life-or-death decisions in various states of fatigue has demonstrated some fascinating predictable phenomena. By monitoring Event-Related Brain Potentials (ERPs) via non-invasive electrodes on the scalp, researchers are able to map the areas of the brain activated under stressful circumstances requiring quick but critical decision-making.
One particular study I found focused on an ERP component called Event-Related Negativity (ERN) that originates from the anterior cingulate cortex. The anterior cingulate cortex is a part of the brain shown to play a critical role in conflict detection.
The working theory is there is a ying and yang sort of interplay occurring when the human brain is confronted with sudden conflict. Reactions to a threat are lightning fast, yet inhibitory functions serve to restrict, modulate or deflect behavior as needed in an attempt to control an instinctive and potentially catastrophic response. A well-rested armed citizen who perceives a threat 50 meters away from a position of concealment is able to modulate his response in much greater depth than he might if he is sleep-deprived and the threat comes as a close-range shock.
A good example might be when you inadvertently trip over the family pet in the night. You have an initial urge to kick the animal reflexively but then, ideally, regain control in time to avoid this response. While this may seem intuitive, understanding the mechanism behind it can be useful.
It is a simple thing to induce fatigue-related deteriorations in performance. While most people will deny any degradation in cognitive function in early fatigue states, decreasing sleep by as little as one hour per night for a single week is sufficient to produce measurable deficits. In addition to a quantifiable negative impact on cognitive function, symptoms of mild to moderate fatigue include a lack of energy, weakness, dullness and cognitive depletion.
Cognitive depletion is a temporary state wherein one has diminished capacity to exert control or volition over one’s affect, behavior and cognition.
Interruptions of circadian rhythms typically manifest when trying to acclimate to working night shifts in medical, law enforcement, or manufacturing jobs, and can produce comparable effects in the absence of actual sleep deprivation. Such conditions inevitably lead to cognitive shortcuts that can result in the employment of a firearm under circumstances that might be otherwise inappropriate with potentially catastrophic results.
The primary concern for the typical armed American involves showing appropriate restraint in a hostile environment concurrently populated with friendlies. However, this data has shown a propensity of law enforcement officers to employ deadly force more frequently based upon racial or environmental triggers that might otherwise be suppressed in the absence of fatigue and stress.
Keep your gun and your flashlight readily available should the need arise. The physiology of our response
to a deadly threat shapes our performance and our subsequent survival. However, the best tactical hardware on the planet is nothing more than ballast if you aren’t in satisfactory physical condition to operate it.
Typically, we will be girded thusly for combat when faced with a legitimate threat. Tired, surprised
and groggy, our brains guide our actions under conditions of stress to shape and flavor our responses.
Degradations to our performance under these circumstances can be stark.
Fight Or Flight
Adrenergic receptors are a class of G-protein-coupled cellular receptors targeted by catecholamines. The most pertinent catecholamines to our discussion are epinephrine and norepinephrine. More pedestrian terms would be noradrenaline and adrenaline. This extraordinary contrivance is responsible for the fight-or-flight response that kept our forbearers alive when confronted by saber-toothed tigers. This system offers comparable benefits against more modern threats as well.
A great many human cells are equipped with these receptors and binding and subsequent activation will stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. Manifestations include rapid mobilization of energy, the diversion of blood from non-essential organs to skeletal muscle, increased blood pressure, and the widening of the pupils.
Imagine how you felt the last time you hit the brakes to avoid a squirrel, and you’ll get a taste of this automatic threat management system in action. Feeling the hair stand up on your neck or losing control of your bowels or bladder in extreme circumstances are some of the more fascinating side effects.
The different subtypes and functions of these various proteins are labyrinthine, to say the least, and have been sufficient to drive many a young medical student to despair. The system itself has only been identified since the Second World War and manipulation of these receptors has produced some remarkably effective treatments for common maladies.
The family of anti-hypertensive drugs called Beta Blockers works by modulating the sympathetic nervous system. Lowering blood pressure is the function while potentially undesirable side effects like slowed heart rate and sexual dysfunction stem from the interrelated nature of this system. By contrast, Beta Agonists activate rather than suppress portions of the sympathetic nervous system and are used to treat maladies like asthma.
Let’s go back to our hero standing in the dark in his underwear clutching a handgun and trying desperately not to wet himself in the presence of his terrified wife. Will an understanding of the intricacies of the sympathetic nervous system and “event-related negativity” make him a more viable gunfighter in this circumstance? Likely not, but the nature of our design does maximize our innate tactical capabilities in the face of stress and danger.
Our pupils dilate so as to allow increased enhancement of our night vision capabilities and greater utilization of peripheral cues. Our heart rate increases to provide maximum fuel to our mechanical systems should the need arise to move or react quickly. Blood shunts from places not needed at the moment, like your liver and testicles, and instead moves to feed the skeletal muscle that can help you move quickly, jump farther and run your gun better in the face of an armed adversary.
At the same time, even modest fatigue, combined with the inevitable disorientation spawned by being awakened suddenly and unexpectedly, can disengage some of the inhibitory functions that might keep us from engaging were we better rested or emotionally prepared. Under such circumstances the possibility of shooting a no-shoot target goes up and it is in this case your having a family crisis plan can pay legitimate dividends.
Train in times of peace so as to be ready in times of war. Run through possible scenarios with your spouse and children so everybody knows what to do in the event of a crisis. Have a rally point a safe distance outside the house so you can get a quick headcount in the event of a fire or similar emergency.
Place a few old blankets in the tool shed along with a flashlight or chem lights so your family won’t freeze to death waiting for the fire department. Plan and rehearse actions on enemy contact for everybody in the family in the event of a home invasion. Make it a game and practice with flashlights in the dark so the kids aren’t frightened. Ensure they know where to go, how to hide and what to do if the world goes sideways in the middle of the night.
Lastly, take care of yourself. Physical fitness and personal discipline are dying arts in America. Getting old may not be negotiable, but allowing yourself to get soft and fat are personal choices. If you smoke cigarettes and think you are in any way serious about survival, you are deluding yourself. Eat right, exercise and practice with your primary defensive weapon as often as you are able. In so doing you can better protect your family, impress your bride and defend your castle for those times when life really hands you lemons.
In 1944, British breweries offered to donate beer to British troops currently invading Normandy. In order to deliver the beer, the RAF modified spitfires to carry beer kegs instead of bombs. The airflow over the kegs even provided natural refrigeration.